More weapons in armoury soon
New Delhi, January 1
In an indication that India will keep up its pace of buying newer weapons for its armed forces, the Ministry of Defence will spend the entire allocation on new weapons before the financial year ends in March.

Positive signals from ULFA: GogoiSays talks can go ahead without Paresh Baruah
Guwahati, January 1
On the first day one of the New Year, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi raised a glimmer of hope about possibility of negotiation with the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

Children dressed up as freedom fighters greet President Pratibha Patil onNew Year’s Day at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Friday.
A Tribune photograph

Assam set to go green in this year
Guwahati, January 1
The Assam government is adopting an ambitious ‘green plan’ beginning this year to convert all government buildings into eco-friendly zones starting with the secretariat.

Tackling Ultras2009: A good year for security forces
Guwahati, January 1
In the history of two decades of counter-insurgency operations in Assam, the year that has gone by was definitely one among the best for the security forces in terms of outcome of sustained operations.

Now, parliamentary panel proceedings under RTI
New Delhi, January 1
The Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) has ruled that the records with a parliamentary committee can be provided under the RTI Act once the report has been tabled on the floor of the House.

Feasibility study for bullet train underway
New Delhi, January 1
Indian Railways is carrying on a feasibility study for the running of bullet trains in India and feel that the project could become a reality in the coming few years.

Veteran Left leader and former Chief Minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu being taken to hospital after he complained of chest congestion in Kolkata on Friday. — PTI

Cong issues notice to Telangana MP
New Delhi, January 1
Andhra Pradesh minister K Venkat Reddy appears to be heading for trouble, being in the dock for not withdrawing his resignation after the Centre issued a call for an all-party meting on the Telangana issue.

From Saffron to Red, they are one for Telangana
Hyderabad, January 1
They represent various hues of political spectrum, ranging from Saffron to Red. But, like all colours merging into white, they have come together to pursue a common goal of statehood for Telangana region.

Purchase of Bulletproof Jackets
Notices to 8 top cops over missing file
Mumbai, January 1
The Maharashtra government today issued notices to eight senior police officials, including former Mumbai police commissioner D N Jadhav, as part of a probe into missing documents pertaining to purchase of bulletproof jackets for the Mumbai police.

The partial eclipse of the moon as observed in the wee hours in Kolkata
on Friday. — PTI

Manual on drought management
New Delhi, January 1
The government is preparing an exhaustive manual for practical management of drought mitigation and relief measures.

SP vows to replace parks with schools
Lucknow, January 1
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has resolved to demolish parks and memorials of Dalit icons built by the BSP government and replace it with schools and
hospitals named after the Dalit icons.

Delhi girl becomes first Indian to ski to South Pole
New Delhi, January 1
For Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu’s family, 2009 ended on a high note as she became the first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole. However, as the family earnestly awaits her return, their first priority is to repay the loan taken to fund the venture, and not the celebrations.

RJD in mood to launch poll campaign
Patna, January 1
By giving a call for Bihar bandh on January 28 on the issue of price rise, the RJD seems to be in a mood to launch its election campaign. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has given a call to his party men to come out on the streets and launch a decisive battle against the “arrogant” government of Nitish Kumar. Lalu would himself lead the protesters on the streets, said his party sources.

MCI lays down new codeDocs can’t take pharma freebies New Delhi, January 1
Endorsing or participating in private studies on efficacy of drugs and accepting any kind of hospitality from pharma companies might be a thing of the past for doctors with the Medical Council of India coming out with a fresh code of conduct for medical practitioners.

LOOK WHAT I’VE
GOT: A foreign tourist shows a picture in her camera to a
farmer during International Camel Festival in Bikaner on Friday. — PTI

Centre seeks report on Nepali woman’s deportationNew Delhi, January 1The Home Ministry today sought a report from the Maharashtra government following reports that Neetu Singh, a Nepali citizen and final-year student of Pune's Film and Television Institute, was reportedly deported at the behest of her influential husband Amaresh Singh, a Nepali Congress politician.

Gadkari’s resolution: To put new team in placeNew Delhi, January 1A new team, with new talking points and a new time-table for putting the BJP back on the rails is the new BJP president Nitin Gadkari’s New Year resolution.The old guards in the BJP might be waiting with bated breath to become a part of his team, but he is importing his own set of confidants from Maharashtra to assist him.

Visa-on-arrival kicks off New Delhi, January 1Amid the controversy over the stricter visa norms introduced due to security considerations, India today started the “tourist visa-on-arrival” scheme for citizens of five countries on an experimental basis for one year.

Fresh arson in BhilwaraBhilwara, January 1Fresh arson erupted today in curfew-bound areas in three localities of Bhilwara in the wake of the communal clashes here on the day of Muharram earlier this week but there were no casualties.

New Delhi, January 1
In an indication that India will keep up its pace of buying newer weapons for its armed forces, the Ministry of Defence will spend the entire allocation on new weapons before the financial year ends in March.

A senior defence ministry official today said the pace of spending was on track and the allocated sum would be used.

In the previous years, a portion of the allocation could not be used and had raised questions over the pace of spending. This year Rs 54,824 crore was earmarked for capital acquisition. The ministry said the expenditure on acquisitions had increased. Over the last five years, it set to cumulatively add up to Rs 1,78,000 crore. In the previous five years ( 1999-2004), a sum of Rs 62,672 crore was spent.

In the previous years, some of the allocation could not be used.

Since 2005 till the end of this year, the nation would have spent Rs 1.37 lakh crore on acquisition. This includes choppers, missiles, fighters, tanks and other equipment. The process of modernisation of the forces cannot halt at any cost, said sources.

On the impending decision of fixing cost for the Russian-built sea-based aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, the sources added that the contract negotiation committee had given its report a few days ago. The matter would be referred to the Cabinet. The two countries had been renegotiating the deal since 2007 after Moscow demanded an additional $ 1.2 billion for the warship. Later, the demand was hiked to $ 2.9 billion

Separately, the Rama Rao committee report on re-structuring of the DRDO, was being discussed by the ministry and a few meetings have already been held. The findings of the committee are yet to be submitted. The Director of the DRDO has been asked to give his inputs.

The Defence Ministry is also expecting Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor to take a "responsible decision" on the fate of military secretary Lt Gen Awadesh Prakash, who has been indicted in the Sukhna land scam and is due to retire on January 31.

"We think the Army Chief is aware of that and we are sure that he will take a responsible decision on it," a senior official in the Ministry said when asked about its view on the scam in which an adverse recommendation has reportedly been given to Gen Kapoor and reports that Prakash would be given an "honourable exit" as his retirement is imminent. The Eastern Army Command chief, Lt. Gen. V.K. Singh, had recommended a summary dismissal for Prakash. The Army Chief has to take a decision on the punishment to be awarded under the Army Act.

Guwahati, January 1
On the first day one of the New Year, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi raised a glimmer of hope about possibility of negotiation with the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) saying that the government has received positive signals from the outfit, whose all top leaders barring the commander-in-chief are now lodged in jail.

“We have received positive signals from the ULFA but negotiation can’t be started unless there is a formal communication. Let them first decide on the issue to be discussed other than the demand for sovereignty, which is not negotiable,” Gogoi said.

The CM reiterated that the ULFA shouldn’t waste time by harping on its demand for “sovereignty” which is not for discussion. “There is no question of discussing the demand for sovereignty as the people of Assam have repeatedly rejected it by participating whole-heartedly in all the national elections,” Gogoi added.

He said negotiation was possible with the outfit without its fugitive commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah. “It will be good if Paresh Baruah comes forward for talks. We can still go ahead even if he doesn’t come,” the Assam CM said.

He further said in case the talks with the ULFA became a reality then it would be held with full dignity.

“My government well understands that confrontation is not going to solve any problem. But at the same time we have be very firm when the need arises to keep the government functioning smoothly,” he said.

Gogoi today said his government was going to announce a special scheme to improve connectivity in far-flung and borer areas of the state to facilitate rapid development. A special ‘rural area employment generation scheme’ will also be launched in backward areas to shield vulnerable unemployed youth from being recruited into militant outfits.

Guwahati, January 1
The Assam government is adopting an ambitious ‘green plan’ beginning this year to convert all government buildings into eco-friendly zones starting with the secretariat.

“From now onwards, we are going to construct only eco-friendly buildings to house government offices. We will first start with the state secretariat,” Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

He further informed that all directorates of the state government would be shifted to the new green premises outside the city along the National Highway to facilitate decongestion within the populous city. He said a new green city with all modern facilities would be set up near Guwahati.

Meanwhile, to preserve agriculture land from being converted to housing colonies and industrial belts in an unplanned manner, the government is planning to enact a law to ban transfer of agriculture land for use of purposes other than agriculture activities.

“Once the Act comes into force, agriculture land will not be allowed for construction of houses, building and industrial units as is the case now,” the CM said.

Tackling Ultras
2009: A good year for security forcesBijay Sankar Bora
Tribune News Service

Guwahati, January 1
In the history of two decades of counter-insurgency operations in Assam, the year that has gone by was definitely one among the best for the security forces in terms of outcome of sustained operations.

The year 2009 witnessed en masse surrender of the dreaded Dimasa tribe militant, Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel Garlosa faction) of the Black Widow which used to run riot in North Cachar hill district of Assam stalling all development activities, including East West Corridor project of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and a hundreds of railway gauge conversion project worth hundreds of crore in rupees.

Total 374 cadres of Black Widow group surrendered with their weapons, including some sophisticated weapons, in middle of September this year to set the stage for peace negotiation. The surrender happened after the arrest of the outfit’s chairman Jewel Garlosa and a senior leader Partha Warisa from Bangalore on June 3 last.

However, the icing on the cake was the arrest of the chairman of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) Arabinda Rajkhowa, along with the deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah in Bangladesh. The government maintains that Rajkhowa, accompanied by ‘deputy commander-in-chief and military spokesman’ of the ULFA, Raju Baruah and their wives, children and others eight surrendered immediately after they had been pushed back to the Indian side from Bangladesh. Earlier, two other senior ULFA leaders Foreign Secretary Sashadhar Choudhury and Finance Secretary Chitrabon Hazarika in Bangladesh in November.

This has virtually pushed the ULFA to the corner much to the glee of security forces that have been operating against it under a unified command structure. With all senior leaders of the outfit now under its custody, the Government of India is now in an advantageous position to launch focused effort to trap the fugitive commander-in-chief of the outfit, Paresh Baruah.

Another significant development in the front in the year is the beginning of the process of negotiation with the pro-talks faction of the Bodo tribe militant group and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) though the anti-talks faction led by fugitive leader Ranjan Daimari has remained a major headache for the forces.

According to official records, more than 200 militants were killed by forces during the year, while, more than 1,600 others were arrested. Around 450 militants surrendered with about 800 weapons, thanks to improved mechanism of intelligence sharing among the forces engaged in the counter-insurgency operations after the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram started taking personal interest in dealing with the situation in the troubled state.

New Delhi, January 1
The Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) has ruled that the records with a parliamentary committee can be provided under the RTI Act once the report has been tabled on the floor of the House.

Giving the ruling today in a case where the applicant had sought certain details from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, CIC Wajahat Habibullah, however, said documents which have been declared confidential were exempt from being provided.

The ruling came in a case pertaining to one Patanjali Sharma who had sought a certified copy from the Rajya Sabha of a rule of the Central Secretariat Services furnished to a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs by the Department of Personnel.

“I am seeking the information relating to the inputs supplied by the Department of Personnel and Training, on the basis of which the (committee) prepared its 83rd report,” Sharma told the Rajya Sabha. He said there were gross factual errors in the report which were adversely affecting his career advancement.

He moved the Central Information Commission after the Rajya Sabha Secretariat gave some information but did not allow inspection of record saying these were “considered” confidential.

The CIC has now rejected the arguments saying the report was placed on the floor of the House in 2001 and there was nothing to suggest that it could be withheld from Parliament. In his order the CIC said, “inspection of the file, which is part of access to information... Together with taking certified copies of the documents or records... Is evidently accessible to appellant”.

Habibullah said the committee had decided to place this before Parliament as long ago as 2001. “Once that has been done, it cannot be argued that any component of that committee’s proceedings resulting in the report being placed before Parliament is to be withheld from Parliament, unless so specified”.

The CIC said the report does not stipulate whether Committee has not decided or has decided against placing a report, or any of its components, before Parliament.

He directed the Central Public Information Officer to allow the inspection of the records after seeking permission of the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs within 10 days.

New Delhi, January 1
Indian Railways is carrying on a feasibility study for the running of bullet trains in India and feel that the project could become a reality in the coming few years.

The feasibility study was undertaken soon after former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had returned from his visit to Japan early 2009.

One of the pet projects of Lalu, the feasibility study for running trains at a speed of almost 350 kms per hour is being carried out by the Indian Railways with the help of three companies, including a French and an Italian firm.

Following his return, Lalu had said that the Railways was examining the possibilities of running the bullet train on some routes, including Mumbai-Ahamedabad, Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi-Patna.

Reports now say that the feasibility study is being conducted on the 533-km long Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad section and a report is expected to be submitted by next month. It will only be after the submission of the feasibility study that a decision would be taken.

A study is especially being conducted to check whether a special protected corridor would have to be created to run this train. Experts believe that with the kind of open traffic available across Indian railway lines, running bullet with a protected corridor would be the only plausible option.

Experts point out that a dedicated corridor would have to be built and officials estimate that each kilometre of such a train would cost about Rs 100-150 crore.

The feasibility study is being carried out for the possible alignment, fare structure and volume of passengers in the proposed high-speed corridor.

Besides the elevated route, study will look at the possibility of underground route for the high-speed corridor.

The deploying of bullet trains on Indian rail lines has come into focus again Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama offered his country's expertise in such modern technology. During his his just-concluded visit,

Hatoyama said he would like to see bullet train technology in India and pointed out that Japanese bullet trains have never been involved in any accident.

The bullet train at 350 km per hour speed aims to reduce the travel time between Pune and Mumbai to just 25 minutes from the present three hours and the travel time from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will shrink to less than two hours from the present seven hours.

Officials say that if the feasibility study on the Pune-Ahmedabad sector is positive then a similar study could also be conducted on the Delhi-Amritsar sector also. This would also include deployment of the train on the Delhi-Chandigarh sector.

A similar study may also be carried out on the Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai, the Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulum and the Howrah-Haldia sectors.

New Delhi, January 1
Andhra Pradesh minister K Venkat Reddy appears to be heading for trouble, being in the dock for not withdrawing his resignation after the Centre issued a call for an all-party meting on the Telangana issue.

Congress sources said based on a report given by Andhra Pradesh party in-charge Veerappa Moily to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the erring minister had been issued a show-cause notice to explain his position by the party.

While 11 out of the 13 Telangana Ministers yesterday had withdrawn their resignations in view of the Centre’s decision, two ministers -K Venkat Reddy and D Sridhar Babu- remained struck to their position and refused to take back their resignations.

Clearly, the Centre’s decision to set the dialogue process rolling had triggered differences among Congress ministers from Telangana region who had earlier submitted their resignation, demanding a specific time frame for carving out the new state.

However, what went against Reddy was that he was among the first ones to submit his resignation. Besides he is also understood to have made allegations against K Rosaiah, charging him of bias.

Reddy is learnt to have said Rosaiah. Instead of behaving like the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, was being biased by stating that agitation in the Telangana region was creating unnecessary panic among the corporate and film industry.

Taking a strong exception to the remarks made by Reddy, some other ministers in the Rosaiah cabinet had demanded that he should apologise to the Chief Minister. They contended that while Reddy could voice his opinion at a Cabinet meeting or complain to the Congress party high command, he should not have criticised the Chief Minister in the media.

Stating that Reddy’s actions reflected gross indiscipline, sources said, they demanded that he should give an explanation on his statement to the Chief Minister and Congress high command.

Hyderabad, January 1
They represent various hues of political spectrum, ranging from Saffron to Red. But, like all colours merging into white, they have come together to pursue a common goal of statehood for Telangana region.

For the last several weeks, the historic Arts College building at Osmania University campus here, the nerve centre of Telangana agitation, has been bursting at its seams with thousands of students from the city and the rest of Telangana districts gathering to express their solidarity with the statehood cause.

Providing them inspiration is a group of committed and passionate youngsters who have launched indefinite fast demanding creation of Telangana state.

There are no party flags but the sprawling campus is dotted by hundreds of white banners carrying colourful Telangana map and “Jai Telangana” slogan.

The students of Osmania University have risen above party politics.

Till the other day, they were fierce followers of their respective parent parties, be it Congress, the BJP, the CPI or the CPI (M). Now, they have joined hands to form the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of student bodies. It consists of 14 organisations, including those representing Dalit groups, OBC associations and other youth groups from Telangana universities.

Clearly, it is the student power that is driving the ongoing Telangana movement in Andhra Pradesh. Though Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao is credited with reviving a dying movement by embarking on an indefinite fast on November 29, the statehood agitation has since moved beyond political parties with students taking control of it.

In fact, the pro-Telangana leaders of various political parties have been making a beeline to the university campus to express solidarity with the agitating students.

“We do not want political parties to gain mileage out of this people’s agitation. It is the youth which is going to play a crucial role in deciding the course of the new Telangana state,” said P Ravi, a research scholar in economics and a member of the JAC.

Mumbai, January 1
The Maharashtra government today issued notices to eight senior police officials, including former Mumbai police commissioner D N Jadhav, as part of a probe into missing documents pertaining to purchase of bulletproof jackets for the Mumbai police.

The officers have been asked to reply to the notice by January 4, state government sources said.

The file pertaining to the purchase of bulletproof jackets went missing after the terror attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, where senior police officers were killed despite donning the supposedly protective gear.

After the Metropolitan Magistrate's court, hearing a public interest litigation petition, ordered the police to file a First Information Report and probe the missing file, it was traced to an office in the Mumbai police headquarters itself. Three clerks from the purchase department were suspended for misplacing the file. It then transpired that several important pages from the file were missing.

The petitioner who filed the PIL alleged irregularities in the purchase of the bulletproof jackets. Based on information obtained from the accounts department of the police, the petitioner, Santosh Daundkar, submitted that a tender was issued in 2001 for the purchase of 55 bulletproof jackets to a Pune-based firm. The successful bidder, NTB Hi-Tech Ceramics, had no record of making bulletproof vests, the petitioner stated.

The order was doubled to 110 jackets within a month bypassing rules, the petition alleged. However the company was unable to supply the jackets till 2004 and when these were tested at the firing range, the jackets were found to be defective and rejected.

The petitioner alleged that the same jackets were later resupplied by the company after carrying out modifications.

New Delhi, January 1
The government is preparing an exhaustive manual for practical management of drought mitigation and relief measures.

The manual will be released soon.

The drought manual is expected to prove an effective practical guideline for administrators, experts and civil society in implementing drought mitigation and relief measures and for alleviating distress of the drought-affected people.

The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation had asked the National Institute of Disaster Management to prepare a manual reflecting a comprehensive and coordinated approach to management of drought recommending measures, which need to be implemented for effective drought relief and mitigation.

The manual is to draw upon the rich and diverse past experience of drought management and suggest an extensive list of procedures and measures required to be taken for alleviating the impact of drought. India has witnessed 22 major droughts in the past 120 years and seven during the past three decades alone.

Increased climate variability coupled with global warming has made the rainfall pattern more inconsistent and unpredictable, leading to increase in the recurrence of droughts and drought-like situations.

Apart from resultant fall in agricultural production, droughts have other multifarious long-drawn impacts, such as shortage of drinking water, fodder, deficiency of water in dams and reservoirs for power generation severely affecting overall growth of the economy.

Lucknow, January 1
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has resolved to demolish parks and memorials of Dalit icons built by the BSP government and replace it with schools and
hospitals named after the Dalit icons.

"I have chosen Lucknow to lead the jail bharo agitation and court arrest from January 19 since the state capital is the symbol of the arbitrary conduct of the BSP government," he said at a press conference.

Addressing party workers at the SP headquarters after paying homage to socialist leader Raj Narain on his 24th death anniversary, Yadav once
again reiterated his resolve to get the parks and memorials of the Dalit icons demolished and replace it with schools
and hospitals.

"Mayawati has occupied over 2,500 acres of public land in the capital and all political parties are silent on this issue," remarked Yadav.

"Various parks and memorials have been constructed from the hard-earned money of the poor of the state and we will give these assets back to the people by constructing schools and hospitals in place of the memorials," said Yadav.

"The schools and hospitals will be named after the Dalit icons," he added.

Terming the BSP government as an epitome of arbitrary conduct, bad governance and corruption, Yadav recalled
his agitation for the sugarcane farmers after the police firing at Ramkola in Deoria
district during the first BJP regime in 1992.

"The Ramkola agitation remains a milestone in the history of the Samajwadi Party, where I was arrested and jailed, but the government had to relent and accept the demands of the farmers," he said.

New Delhi, January 1
For Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu’s family, 2009 ended on a high note as she became the first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole. However, as the family earnestly awaits her return, their first priority is to repay the loan taken to fund the venture, and not the celebrations.

“We came to know about the news yesterday (Thursday). I have not been able to talk to her. But the Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition authorities told us that she was likely to return January 15,” Love Raj Singh, her husband and a mountaineer himself, said.

Dharmshaktu, a 38-year-old mountaineer and outdoor instructor based in Delhi, was part of an all-women expedition that skied for nearly eight-nine hours daily for 40 days, braving chilly winds, sub-zero temperatures, the vast emptiness of Antarctica and carried 80 kg of load on their backs to reach the South Pole yesterday.

For her family, the journey to the South Pole was taken against formidable odds like lack of finance.

“It is a big achievement for us and a tremendous example of her will power. All sponsors had said no to us and we took a loan to fund the venture. The first priority is to repay that loan,” Singh said.

The cost of the venture has been Rs 10-11 lakh. Unable to raise sufficient funds and shown the doors by the government and corporate houses, Dharmshaktu had to take a loan of Rs 5.75 lakh from a bank and borrow the rest from friends.

Dharmshaktu and her husband’s dream of becoming the first Indian couple to together scale Mount Everest, the highest peak on earth, has taken a backseat.

“We will think about other expeditions only when we have repaid this loan,” Singh added.

However, currently the family is waiting to have a word with her.

“Despite the problems, the achievement is big. When I will get to talk to her I will just say ‘well done’,” an elated Singh said. — IANS

Patna, January 1
By giving a call for Bihar bandh on January 28 on the issue of price rise, the RJD seems to be in a mood to launch its election campaign. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has given a call to his party men to come out on the streets and launch a decisive battle against the “arrogant” government of Nitish Kumar. Lalu would himself lead the protesters on the streets, said his party sources.

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), RJD’s trusted ally, has also supported the bandh call. LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan has also called upon his party leaders and supporters to join the RJD’s bandh call. After organising the statewide bandh, the RJD and the LJP would launch a “jail bharo abhiyan” against the state government.

Lalu has also called upon other political parties, particularly the Left, to join the Bihar bandh call. Lalu knows that the Centre is mainly responsible for its failure to check the price rise, but he holds the state government guilty for it for not taking action against hoarders.

According to him, fertilisers meant for farmers of the state were being smuggled to Nepal and the farmers here were forced to buy the same at double the price. Lalu also plans to call for Bharat bandh on the issue with the help of other parties, he said.

Political observers say the RJD chief was actually polarising his supporters in order to put them in election mode by organising Bihar bandh and the jail bharo abhiyan. The Assembly elections in Bihar are due in November, 2010. The LJP has also decided to organise a rally of its party workers at the historic Gandhi Maidan of Patna on February 15.

The ruling JD(U) has also started its pre-election exercise and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has started pitching his tent in the countryside. After spending six days in his camp at Rajgir, Nitish has decided to organise similar camps at Vaishali in North Bihar and Bodh Gaya (Central Bihar) very soon.

The state government’s New Year bonanza for its employees by way of revised salaries and pension as per the recommendations of Sixth Pay Panel is also being viewed as a pre-poll exercise of the ruling NDA.

New Delhi, January 1
Endorsing or participating in private studies on efficacy of drugs and accepting any kind of hospitality from pharma companies might be a thing of the past for doctors with the Medical Council of India coming out with a fresh code of conduct for medical practitioners.

The MCI via amendment to the "Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulation 2002" has brought out the code of conduct which includes not accepting any gifts or travel facility from any pharmaceutical company or the health care industry.

According to the new rules, a medical practitioner may carry out, participate in or work in research projects funded by pharmaceutical and allied health care industries, but has to ensure that the particular project has due permission from the competent authorities.

He also has to ensure that the research project gets clearance from an institutional ethics body.

In dealing with pharma and allied healthcare industries, a medical practitioner shall always ensure that there shall never be any compromise either with his or her own professional autonomy or with the autonomy and freedom of the medical institution where he or she is working.

As far as endorsements are concerned, a doctor will not endorse any drug or product of the industry publicly.

Any study conducted on the efficacy or otherwise of such products shall be presented to or through appropriate scientific bodies or published in appropriate journals in a proper way. —
PTI

New Delhi, January 1
The Home Ministry today sought a report from the Maharashtra government following reports that Neetu Singh, a Nepali citizen and final-year student of Pune's Film and Television Institute, was reportedly deported at the behest of her influential husband Amaresh Singh, a Nepali Congress politician.

“Yes, we have sought a report from the home department. We will have to see it before deciding on anything,” Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told IANS.

On the night of Dec 5, the Pune police allegedly deported Neetu to Kathmandu, saying that she was indulging in anti-national activities.

The police reportedly picked her up from the hostel, packed her belongings, took her to Mumbai and deported her to Kathmandu the next day.

However, Neetu's friends at the institute are not buying this argument.

Following the incident, women groups and students of the institute were planning to take up the issue with Home Minister P. Chidambaram and the National Commission for Women and demand that Neetu be allowed to return to India and complete her studies.

The students said the police refused to give details about Neetu's midnight deportation and were unable to specify the charges against her.

Neetu married Amaresh two years ago in Kathmandu in a major social event attended by Nepal's top political establishment, including former Prime Ministers Prachanda, G.P. Koirala and Baburam Bhattarai — IANS

New Delhi, January 1
A new team, with new talking points and a new time-table for putting the BJP back on the rails is the new BJP president Nitin Gadkari’s New Year resolution.The old guards in the BJP might be waiting with bated breath to become a part of his team, but he is importing his own set of confidants from Maharashtra to assist him.

Some of them like Vinay Sahasrabudhe running the RSS outfit Rambhau Prabodhini Mahalgi are already there to do for Gadkari what as one of the insiders said was once being done by Sudheendra Kulkarni first for Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was the Prime Minister and later for L.K. Advani when he was the prime ministerial aspirant. In effect that means conceptualising and strategising the policies and their articulation.

The other members of the proposed team will be a Gadkari associate named Sudhir and another associate Avinash Hushe. There is also a Marathi journalist from Amravati, who will form the core of the BJP president’s fire-fighting team, disclosed party sources.

The full and final team of the BJP president will be announced only after his presidentship has been ratified by the national council which is likely to meet any time between February 15 and 20, said sources. The venue might be Indore in Madhya Pradesh. But a final call on the dates and venue has yet to be taken.

The BJP plans to exploit to the hilt the Ranganath Misra Commission report, which has suggested reservation quota for Muslims in educational institutions as a major talking point to mobilise support against the UPA government, never mind the fact that the government has not accepted that report yet and has shown no signs of accepting it outright.

“We will take this issue to the OBCs, Dalits and Advisais who will be directly affected if the Misra Commission recommendations are accepted,” said a BJP insider. Already the VHP has announced a similar programme to go to town about the said report.

There are other issues also Gadkari’s BJP proposes to raise like India’s relations with Pakistan, terrorism and Naxalism, as also rising prices of essential commodities, the 1984 Sikh killings under the Congress regime and Telangana. But these are only secondary. The Misra Commission report will form the mainstay of the BJP’s campaign against the UPA government under Nitin
Gadkari.

New Delhi, January 1
Amid the controversy over the stricter visa norms introduced due to security considerations, India today started the “tourist visa-on-arrival” scheme for citizens of five countries on an experimental basis for one year.

The five countries, chosen for the experiment, are Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore.“The ‘tourist visa-on-arrival’ scheme with a maximum validity of 30 days with single entry facility will be granted by immigration officers in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata airports to start with,’’ the External Affairs Ministry announced.

It, however, made it clear that the grant of visa-on-arrival would be regulated as per the guidelines prescribed in the visa manual.

Sources said the decision was taken after the Tourism Ministry had sought introduction of the scheme for tourists coming from these countries which were potential source markets for India. The ministry had, in fact, suggested that citizens from some other countries like Germany, Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands, Laos, Cambodia and South Africa should also be allowed to avail this facility.

The facility is offered by several South East Asian countries and proves popular with foreign tourists looking for a short break. The scheme introduced from today is expected to substantially increase the number of foreign tourists to India, especially during the Commonwealth Games to be held towards the end of the year.

The decision to start visa-on-arrival comes amid criticism of the recent tightening of visa norms by the government in the wake of startling disclosures in the terror suspect David Coleman Headley case.

Bhilwara, January 1
Fresh arson erupted today in curfew-bound areas in three localities of Bhilwara in the wake of the communal clashes here on the day of Muharram earlier this week but there were no casualties.

Religious and mortuary sites and a shoe shop were set on fire in the troubled areas of Bheemganj, Sanaganeri Gate and Soochna Kendra in the wee hours, the police said.

The fresh violence forced the district administration to relax curfew for two hours only once this evening as against twice yesterday, they said.

Curfew was relaxed from 4 pm to 6 pm hours to enable the people to purchase foodgrains and vegetables on the day of the New Year, they said, adding the relaxation hours were incident-free.

Over 100 persons were arrested in 16 different cases relating to communal clashes and 50 of them were released on bail and surety, the police said.

Additional police and RAC jawans were deployed to ensure peace as the situation in a few localities was stated to be tense, they added. —
PTI